Yet another DIY canister filter

I've been collecting cool looking glassware from the local university surplus, and came upon some very interesting 3-port jars this week. I've got a new Mini-M with a HOB that I'm just not happy with, so I thought I'd try to convert one of these jars into a tiny canister filter:

I'm still letting the epoxy and silicone finish curing, so I haven't been able to check if it's water-tight yet, but I've got my fingers crossed.

Actually it was the compression fitting at the top that leaked. I never really expected to use it, so no big loss. Merely practicing my DIY skills and adding to the TPT list of 1000 ways NOT to make a canister filter. We've gotta be getting close...

I'm actually headed back out the the garage to try again with a 4.75" diameter x 9" piece of acrylic tube I've been dying to mess with for months. I don't expect that one to work either so I just bought a Hydor Prime 10 on Amazon.

When I heard diy canister filter, all I could think of was great...another thin bucket disaster waiting to happen. But this right looks like it would work out fine! I would use threading teflon tape on all the threads though

So here's a peek at attempt 2. It actually doesn't leak when I turn it upside down and shake it vigorously.

Although, since I actually ordered a Hydor Prime 10, I think I may turn this into an aquatic vacuum cleaner. Something with a decent little hose (covered with a screen to keep from vacuuming aqua soil), some mechanical filtering and a return so that a good cleaning of the tank doesn't necessarily mean a water change.

The best DIY canister filter I seen is the one I build back in 1998
Using plastics glass. Don't have any pic of the filter but I still have the design of the filter in those big floppy disk. Lol

Thanks!

Here's the progress for today:

The inflow and outflow pipes are just cemented in with Weld-on #16 (I'm all out of #4).

For the pump cord, I cut a 1/4" long section of 1/2" ID acrylic tube, glued a flat bottom on it and glued all of that under a 3/8" hole in the lid. Then I drilled a hole the size of the cord in the little flat bottom, and pulled the cord through. This left a "well" where the cord passed through the lid which I filled with Weld-on. Hopefully that 1/2" long plug of new acrylic will seal around the cord. I'm letting all of the weld-on set for 24 hours before testing anything.

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